1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to automatic handling equipment for the chicken layer industry.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In past years, improvements in equipment for the hatchery industry were involved with the handling of eggs before they hatched, and improved incubators and new storage techniques were adopted primarily to increase the hatchability of the eggs. However, very little attention was given to eliminating the problems of handling the waste product after the eggs hatch. Earlier work on handling hatchery waste was concerned with the development of a pneumatic system for transporting the waste material out of a small broiler hatchery and into a temporary holding tank (Agricultural Research Service Report ARS-S-152, "A vacuum System for Handling Chicken Hatchery Waste"). This waste consisted primarily of eggshells and unhatched eggs. A layer chicken hatchery has different requirements, and the difference between broiler and layer hatcheries usually begins where the chicks are sexed. In the layer hatchery, the facilities must provide for disposing of the cockerels (about one-half of the chicks) as well as the waste from the tray (shells, dead embryos, and unhatched eggs). The addition of cockerels to the waste adds considerably more protein value to the product, and rendering plants, which utilize the wastes, usually accept it more readily than that from broiler hatcheries.